Human Language
LanguageLanguage The people of the consortia are multi–lingual, multi–ethnic and there are a great many citizens of mixed heritage. The traditional geographical and personal divisions between many racial and cultural groups has broken down, as one might have gleaned from the name of the physicist Blasky Yao Hsiang. Chinese, English and modern Latin are the three most common languages spoken. English is still the Koiné of all Human beings in general, especially as it is the language of SolForce command, and is often used in bureaucratic settings, but virtually all important documents and instructions in the civilian world will be printed in at least three languages, two of which will be English and Chinese, while the other varies from place to place. Roughly 50% of the Human population is raised speaking Chinese at home. One may notice the use of Latin at times within the Human naming scheme. The rationale behind its use is that currently the E.U. is discussing the re–adoption of Latin as Europe's common language, and since Arinn Dembo is passingly familiar with it, she decided to use it for fun. With this fusion, Human language has evolved centuries' worth of new slang and linguistic fusions. Non-English Phrases in SolForce "Canicula" in the SotS future is not a word of such limited meaning as it was in classical Rome. Nor do SotS–era Latin speakers obsess about gender agreement of nouns. Otherwise it would be impossible for "Payback" to be a "bitch" — because "repensum" is neuter and "canicula" is feminine. Per Ardua Ad Astra — Through Hardship, the Stars. The official motto of the Space Corps. Repensum est Canicula — Payback is a Bitch. The unofficial motto of Humans in space. Tu et quis exercitus, canicula? — "You and what army, bitch?" Used by Cai Rui in Escape From Avalon--Part Two. Sol Invictus — Literally "the undefeated Sun", used by some SolForce pilots to indicate that they will not be defeated. Scivi te futurum esse. Non alius in mundo tam insanus est qui in tali loco inveniretur. — “I knew it would be you. There is not another man in the universe insane enough to be found in such a place.” Used by Sara in Rendezvous at Ke'Vanthu. FTL Communication Each race has a different method for sending FTL communiqués based on their drive tech. Humans do not find it difficult to transmit energy from one node point to the next and SolForce scouts habitually drop a specifically engineered node beacon in each new system upon arrival. Planet Names When names are used more than once, the name is appended with Roman numerals up to X, and then decimal digits afterwards. For example: Foo, Foo II, Foo III...Foo X, Foo 11, Foo 12... Click here for general, non–race–specific planet names. Ship Names (AI) Insults Pejorative terms are more often used by spacers in the field than in diplomatic channels. Even a ranking officer on the line generally doesn't refer to the enemy as "Crocs", "Bugs", or "Flips". On the other hand, these terms are very frequently used by enlisted men and women, especially as these words can be combined with other useful descriptive terms: "Daddy Croc", "War Bug", "Lady Bug", "Flip Cruiser". The Hiver have a pejorative term for Humans: it would translate roughly as "mole", and refers to a rodent–like burrowing mammal on their own home world — a common garden pest. Angry Liir refer to Humans as "eels", which evokes their treachery, their low intelligence and their tendency to attack underwater gardens and livestock — as well as their tendency to disappear into rock formations where one cannot follow and from which they are difficult to dig out without doing a lot of damage. The Tarka name for Humans translates roughly as "stump" or "stumpy". It's a generally derogatory and belittling term for a Tarka born without a tail, and includes a whole range of negative connotations, including a heavy slur on the parents and a suggestion that one's egg really should have been eaten rather than fertilized.